Baud-game apparatus



June 4, 1929. NERTNEY 1,715,563

' BALL GAME APPARATUS Filed Mafch 28, 1928 INVENTOR. Edward A TTORNEYfi.

Patented June 4, 1929.

EDWARD L. NERTNEY, OF NORTH SIDE COHOES, NEW YORK.

BALL-GAME APPARATUS.

Application 'filed March 28, 1928. Serial No. 265,426.

This inventionrelates to game apparatus and has for itsprimary object toprovide mechanism by means of which a game in simulation of a regular baseball game may be played indoors on a table or the like, and in which all of the rules as to playing the regular game, scoring, etc., may be observed.

A further object of the invention resides irrso constructing and designing the appa ratus that it may be manufactured and placed on the market at a relatively low cost. Another object of theinvention consists in the construction of such a device which is adaptable to both left-handed batters as well as right-handed batters, thereby more closely simulating the actions as practiced on the regular baseball diamond.

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing; in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus with the coverremoved.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on lin 2 5 2-2 of Figure 1; and I Figure 3 is a perspective view partly broken away of the return track or runway for the ball. Referring to the drawing more specifically the numeral 1 indicates a tray such/as the lower section of the ordinary box of the slip cover type and isprovided with side walls 2 and end walls 3. Mounted within the-tray 1 is a platform 4 provided with down-turned side flanges 5 and down-turned end flanges 6. These flanges 5 and 6 form legs or supports for the platform 4 and space the latter above the bottom. of the tray 1. This platform is of a width equal to that of the interior of the tray but is of somewhat shorter length so that when mounted in the tray as indicated in Figure 1 one of its ends will be spaced from the adjacent end of the tray so as to provide a .1.5 compartment 7. I

glued or otherwise secured within the tray 1 and has outlined on its 11 per surface the diagram of a baseball fiel as indicated by numeral 8. (lin the field asthma outlined is The platform 4 may be provided a plurality of'apertures 9, all of which are provided withxindicia such as Home run, Three base hit,".Fly out, Bunt safe, Error, One basehetc.

The apertures 8 are of a diameter to permit the passage of aball 9 which is employed as a baseball in the operationtof the game as disclosed herein; A baseball bat 10 is provided for use in conjunction'with the ball 9 in a manner which will be readily understood and this bat is provided with a pivot pin 11 by means of which it may be pivoted in either of the apertures 12 disposed on opposite sides of thehome plate 13. By this means it will be apparent that the bat may be used by either a right-handed or left-handed batter, thereby closely simulating the actions of an ordinary baseball game played out-ofldoors;

The ball being struck by the hat 9, is projected across the playing field and will ordinarily pass through one of the apertures 9 which, by its indi'cia, willindicate whether the play is to be counted as a single, twobase hit, an out, on the like.

Itis desirable, of course, tl'iat some means be provided for returning the ball to the compartment 7 in order that it may be avail- To this end I provide a runway which is indicated generally by able for further use.

the numeral 14. This runway comprises a 7 sheet of cardboard folded intermediate its ends to provide a continuous base portion'15, 7

side walls 16 and flaps 17 which are joined together asindicated bynumeral 18 to provide the upper wall 19 of the runway. At

one end of the runway intermediate the top and bottom walls 17-15, is placed a spacer block 20 and at its opposite ends the upper and lower walls are held in substantial contact mid-way of the sides of the runway by a strip of paper or the like adhesively secured to these members as indicated by numoral 21. It will thus be seen that in the finished runway the 'flaps 17 incline downwardly toward the longitudinal center of spacer 52.41.

the runway and alsoincline downwardly from the end to which ha s been "the,

ill

This runway is mounted in the tray 1 prior to the insertion therein of the platform 4 and is spaced from both ends of the tray 1. The runway is preferably adhesive ly secured in the tray with its downwardly inclined end in contact with the adjacent flange 6 of the platform 4 and in order that a ball may be returned to the compartment 7 the flange 6 is provided with a notch 6; likewise the partition 22 which cooperates with the walls of the box to provide the compartment? is provided with an opening 23 which registers with the opening 6' in the flange 6. The opposite end of the runway 14 is located just in front of the home plate 1.3 and in order to space the top of the runway a sutlicientdistance below the platform 4 so as to allow a ball to travel along the platform, I provide a spacing strip 24 which is adhesively secured to the top of the run- .way at its end which is located adjacentthe home plate. This strip 24 also serves the further purpose of preventing a ball from traveling rearwardl so as to get in back of the runway and t ius be prevented from returning to the compartment 7.

The entiredevice, with the exception of the bat and ball is made of paper and cardboard and is so designedas to permit of its construction at a very low cost due to the fact that very few operations are required in constructing the platform. or playing surface and the runway which is disposed below the same.

Preferably, the entire device when not in use is inclosed by a cover of the slip type as indicated in dotted outline in Figures 1 and 2.

In-the operation of the device, two sets of cardboard chips or the like, nine in number, are provided; the two sets being of different c0lors,,for instance, one set being red and the other set blue. The game is pla ed by two .persons, one selecting the blue chips and one the red. The player representingthe team in the field rolls the ball towards the home plate 13 and the player representing the team at bat, having placed the bat in the proper pivot aperture 12 depending upon whether he is a right or left-handed player, swings-the bat, provided the ball is over the plate, and drives it across the platform 4. The ball will enter one of the apertures 9 and by the indicia adjacent the aperture the play will be determined, as will be obvious. The ball, after passing through the aperture 9 will travel down the inclined runway M and pass into the compartment 7 where it is again ready for use. The regular rules as employed with the outside game of baseball will prevail in the present simulated game of baseball, and a detailed description of the manner in which fouls are counted,

etc, is believed to be unnecessary.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it will be apparent that I have devised a baseball game apparatus to be played indoors and in which all of the rules of the ordinary outside ball game may be observed; that the device is simple and inexpensive in construction; and that it is so designed as to permit its use by either right-handed or left-handed players, just as in the ordinary game of baseball. I

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described what Inow believe to he the best embodiment of the invention, but I do not wish to be understood thereby as limiting myself or the scope of the invention as many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention: all such I aim to include in the scope of the appended claims.

\Vhat I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the class described including a tray, a platform mounted in said tray and including downturned ends and sides resting on the bottom of said tray, one end of said platform being spaced from the adj acent end of the tray to provide a compartment, one downturned end of said platform forming a wall of said compartment and provided with an opening at its lower edge, and a runway below said platform and inclined toward the opening in said wall.

2. A device of the class described including a tray, a platform mounted in said tray abo e the bottom thereof and spaced from one end of the tray to form a compartment, a wall extending transversely of said tray and forming a support for the end of the platform adjacent said compartment, a cardboard runway substantially coextensive with said platform and mounted below the same, said wall being provided with a notch to permit the passage of a ball from the runway to the compartment.

3. A ball game apparatus, a runway including a sheet of cardboard folded to provide spaced upper and lower walls, a spacer block between said walls at one end of the runway, and means holding said walls in substantial contact at the other end of the runway.

4. In a device of the class described, a runway including a sheet of cardboard folded intermediate its ends to provide a continuous bottom wall and side walls, the free ends of said sheet being brought to: gether adjacent the middle of the traekway to form a top wall, means for holding said upper and lower walls spaced apart at one end of the runway, and means for attaching the ends of the cardboard sheet to the bottom wall at the opposite end of the runway.

5. A device of the class described, inc1uding a tray, a. platform mounted in said tray above the bottom thereof and spaced from one end of the tray to form a compartment,, being provided with a notch to permit the a Wall extending transversely of said tray passage of a ball from the runway to the and forming a support for theond of th compartment, and a cardboard strip secured 10 platform adjacent said compartment, a cardacross the opposite end of said runway to board runway of substantially the Width of serve as a'spaoer between said platform and said tray mounted below said platform and runway;

spaced from the ends of said tray, said. Wall EDWARD L. NERTNEY: 

